Select Committee on Defence Minutes of Evidence


APPENDIX 16

Letter from the Parliamentary Relations Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Committee on the Arms Embargo on Nigeria

  The answers to the questions you raised are as follows:

  In accordance with long-standing convention, the Government does not identify the source of the legal advice given to Ministers. The position with regard to the provision of legal advice is as set out in my letter of 26 November.

  The export licence to which you refer in paragraph 3 of your letter was for three armoured Land Rovers for use by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the escort of currency. Parliament were informed of the issue of the licence by means of a written PQ on 19 November 1998 (copy below). The licence was granted to permit a civilian end-user to meet legitimate security needs and was consistent with the purpose of the embargo.

25 January 2000

Nigeria

  Mr Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the UK's arms embargo on Nigeria. [60835]

  Mr Tony Lloyd: We will continue to implement rigorously the EU arms embargo against Nigeria. The UK interprets this as covering all goods and technology on the UK Military List which forms Part III to Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods Order 1994, as amended.

  Following consultations with this Department and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry recently approved, as an exception, a licence for the export of three military listed protected vehicles for use by the Central Bank of Nigeria for the escort of currency. This licence is being granted to permit a civilian end user to meet legitimate security needs and is consistent with the purpose of the embargo.


 
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